… my absolute favorite! It is quite interesting what comes up when you search for lotus flowers on Google. Besides Lotus Notes, the program you might have struggled with in the mid- 90’s, to Lotus Cars, those British sports cars, which some people might find attractive and in between articles about the meaning of the lotus flower in religions and different nations, I finally came accross several websites and articles on just lotus flowers.
As you might know the lotus flower is nothing but a water lily, and yet a very special kind. The “true” lotus flowers at night and closes its buds in the morning. The plant is rooted in soil under water, with leaves and flowers floating on the water surface. The leaves are usually round with a radial cut. Some species however have perfectly round leaves such as Victoria. Victoria Amazonica, or the giant water lily, can develop leaves of up to 9 feet in diameter. The first night its flowers open, they are white, the second night they are pink. The open flower can be up to 16 inches in daimeter.
The lotus flower played an important role in ancient Egypt. You must know that the white Egyptian lotus sinks below the water overnight and reappears and blooms with the first sun rays the next morning. This is why the old Egyptians admired the lotus flower as a symbol of the sun, of creation and rebirth. According to Egyptian mythology, before the existance of the universe there was an infinite ocean of water out of which a lotus flower emerged. When the lotus opened its first flower, Atum stepped out, the self-created sun god.
Unfortunately, lotus flowers when cut don’t last very long. We’ll just have to enjoy this beauty of nature in its original habitat. The North-American water lilies bloom from June through September. Watch out for them on your next nature hike through the woods.
